If Time Could Stand Still
by loulou21
Summary: ONESHOT! Kenshin Himura is cursed to be a tortured wandering soul, is there someone out there that can change his life? I dont own Kenshin!


**If Time Could Stand Still**

Murder. When rolling this word around on your tongue it sounds simple enough; to kill. Killing sounds less harsh than murder, but both inevitably lead to the same end, death. The bringer of death can be called many things; a murderer, a cold-blooded killer, or maybe a person with a cause. But can a cause ever really justify the use of such an archaic form of intimidation to result in a revolution? Slaughter only leads to more slaughter, which breeds hatred and creates more enemies.

Kenshin Himura was told that he was the leader of a just cause. He was the blade that pushed for the revolution. He sliced through the opposition without mercy and rarely did he fail to cut with precision. A life led by blood shed and a cold heart.

Some say that his hair is the color of blood to reflect the number of people that he has introduced to the afterlife. With every life taken, the shade grows a deeper a red. He will come for you at night and the only thing you will see before death is the glow of his amber eyes in the moonlight. Fear the Battousai. 'He is immortal and undefeatable,' they would whisper.

Pushed into the roll of a God was not what Kenshin Himura would consider an honor. It was a stain on his name that was almost impossible to wash off. He did it for the good of the people though. They cried for revolution and he was the person who answered. But killing fathers, sons, brothers, sisters, daughters, and friends didn't make him look like the hero that he at first wanted to be when he was young and immature.

In fact, killing didn't make him feel like a hero at all. After the revolution, he continued to hold the title of the best. But who wanted to be remembered as the best murderer? Kenshin didn't want to be remembered at all. He hoped that his name and title would be forgotten and stashed away in legend. Never again would there be a person with the knack for slaughter.

His name slowly seeped into the cracks and his story became a myth. Nobody knew what had happened to the famous Battousai; he must have died during the revolution. Did he really have God-like speed and a sword that could cut flesh like butter? The red haired samurai faded from children's nightmares and he became a phantom.

Hiding from his sins, he fled the battle field and wandered the country side in hopes of a savior. He would never again kill for a cause, but live his life for the cause of living life. Nobody had the right to decide who lives and dies. But he did have the right to save people on the verge of death or ruin. It was the least he could do to make up for the large amount of blood that stained his hands.

When people looked upon his face, they no longer saw the murderer he once was, but a shabby man who wanted nothing but to help. They didn't know that when he closed his eyes all he saw was the look of horror on the faces of enemies before the light in their eyes faded. He could not justify doing anything but help people when the only thing he saw in the dark was the dead. When would he stop being chased by ghosts?

That's when he saw her. She was running through the street swinging a wooden sword. Her hair was pulled into a high pony tail and she was wearing the uniform of a martial arts school instructor. Skidding to a stop right in front of him, she arched her weapon into an attack stance right above his head. "STOP! You must be Battousai the Manslayer! I will take you down for hurting people and claiming that it was by the use of my family's sword style!"

_What? How the Hell could she know that I am the Battousai? I have not been directly referred to as the Manslayer since the revolution. _

Before her stick made contact with his forehead he gracefully side stepped and caught her arm.

"I believe you are mistaken."

As she began to argue a loud disturbance was made down the street. Wriggling her arm free from his grasp she apologized and ran head first into the commotion.

_She sure had some guts to come by herself and face the Battousai. She was quite a beautiful woman, a little rough around the edges, but beautiful none the less._

Turning to walk away, Kenshin knew that he should get out of this town if there were rumors of him around. But something tugged at his heart and he knew that he couldn't let that woman get hurt.

Dashing towards the group of people in a street fight he swooped the woman into his arms and dodged a blow that was aimed for her chest by a sword that was definitely not made from wood. She would have died if it would have made contact with her body.

Cradling her in his arms, he adjusted her weight to keep one of his arms from falling asleep. He had forgotten what it felt like to have a woman this close to his body. She was so beautiful and her hair smelled like jasmine. Glancing at her face, he noticed that she was pouting and on the verge of a break down.

"He got away! Battousai got away!"

"It appears that he has Miss." Kenshin gently set her on the ground.

"I will get him next time! He will not ruin my family's good name!" Stomping down the street, she disappeared around a corner and then was gone from sight.

Kenshin was disappointed to see her go, but he knew that he would see her again. This was a chance for him to make up for some of the bloodshed he had caused in the past. He also didn't need anybody else parading around pretending to be him.

This was the first time in a long time that Kenshin Himura felt like he had a cause to live for. Walking in the direction she went, he followed her to her dojo.

It seemed he had made it right on time. His timing usually tended to be good when it came to showing up at a fight. The so called Battousai had the young woman by the throat, which was not a very nice thing to do to a lady.

"Put her down." Kenshin would not allow this man to leave the dojo without learning a lesson.

"And who are you to tell me to do that? Do you dare threaten the Battousai?" The man dropped the woman on the ground with a thud.

"Ouch! You bastard!"

Rushing towards Kenshin the imposter swung his sword carelessly and missed every attempt to hack down the small red-headed man. Crushing the man's fingers with his sword, Kenshin proved that man to be no sword master. He crushed him like he would a bug.

"Red hair, cross shaped scar……y….you….you are the real Battousai!" Getting up and running out of the dojo, the man vanished without a second glance back.

One more fight for life accomplished, its time to be off. Turning to exit, Kenshin knew he had stayed long enough in this town.

"Wait! Aren't you even going to tell me your name?"

Surprised that the woman didn't want the real Battousai out of her dojo as soon as possible, he stopped with his back still turned.

"Kenshin…..Kenshin Himura."

"Well aren't you going to stay and help me clean up!!?" Stomping, the woman clenched her fists at her waist.

Turning to face her, Kenshin's eyes were wide with shock. Nobody had ever wanted the Battousai around. His very title caused people to cry in their sleep.

"You mean you don't care that I'm the Battousai?"

"Of course not! I will not judge you for your past. Everybody has a past you know."

Walking up to him she held out her hand. "I'm Kaoru."

He couldn't believe what just happened. She didn't care that he used to be a murderer? She truly was a remarkable woman.

That night when he fell asleep in her guest house, for the first time in a very long time, he didn't dream of death. Instead his head held the vision of a woman with almond eyes and raven hair. Little did he know that she would be in his dreams for the rest of his life. He should have known that she was special the moment that she dropped into his life; time stood still when their eyes locked for the first time when he held her so close to his heart.

**I hope you liked it! I decided to write this one shot to get my mind off of my Inuyasha story for a moment. I did change a few things in here. The conversations were different and I left a few things out from the real anima. But regardless I hope that it was entertaining! Please review! **


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